Safety-guard eor railroad-cabs



J G. CROCKER.

Safety Car.

No. 14,014. Patented Jan. 1, 1856.

rs SAE r SAFETY-GUARD FOR RAILROAD-CARS.

Specification of Letters Patent No. 14,014, dated January 1, 1856.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN G. CRooxER, of the city of Utica, county of Oneida, and State of New York, have invented a new and useful Improvement or Attachment to Railroad- Cars for Preventing Accidents and Loss of Life Upon Railroads.

Many of the accidents upon rail roads, which cause injury to the cars and to persons and usually the loss of life arise from individuals attempting to get on or ofi the cars while they are in motion, when they easily loose their balance, and they almost invariably fall or roll beneath the car wheels and are thereby not only killed themselves, but sometimes cause the train to be thrown off the track to its injury and the imminent risk of the passengers on the cars. Persons also standing on the platforms of the cars, or in passing from one car to another, While they are in motion, are often thrown off the cars or between them, and are killed by the wheels passing over them and cause like risk to the passengers as in the other cases.

Now the nature of my invention consists in providing rail road cars with shields upon each side on the out side of the wheels and between the bottom of the car body and the track and from the fore end to the rear end of each car, and extending sufliciently beyond to lap upon the shield of the next car, when at its greatest running distance or strain, thus forming one continuous shield from the engine or tender to the rear end of the last car of any train, and also providing the cars with a movable or yielding platform to cover the space between each pair of cars when running, by means of which shield and platform a per son leaping from or falling off the cars, or one who is thrown against them when seeking to get on, while they are in motion, will be prevented from falling or rolling under the wheels or being killed or injured by them; or a person standing upon the platform of the cars, or in passing from one to another, will likewise be prevented from falling between them, or under the car wheels, and thus the danger of throwing the cars off the track and the consequent injury to the passengers from this class of accidents will be entirely avoided.

The following is a full, clear, and exact description of the construction and operation of my invention from which others will be enabled to make and use the same,

reference being had to the annexed drawing, making part-of this specification (the same letters referring to like parts of each figure) in which Figure 1, is a longitudinal elevation of the cars with the improvements, A, A, being the cars; B, B, the bottom thereof; C, C, and D the shields; E, E, the hooks, joints or hinges or elbows by which the parts C, C, are suspended and F the movable or yielding platform. Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the hooks or elbow E, and e the groove or way in which it rests. Fig. 3, is a perspective view of the movable platform F and g g are the bars and h, 72, the covering of which it is formed. Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the short shield D, with the hooks (Z (Z, by which it is attached to C, and C of the same figure is a like view of C with the notches j j for holding the hooks (Z cl, with the bolt is at the opposite end to fasten it to the next part of the shield, and Fig. 5 is a cross section of the cars showing how the shields are suspended f, f, being the braces or arms to give stability to the shield when necessary.

The cars to which this improvement may be attached may be of any of the usual form or length or structure. The shield may be covered from the bottom to the top, but its utility will not be impaired if the space from about the journals upward is uninclosed for convenience of examining the running parts of the cars, oiling and the like. It must be so adjusted that when the cars are loaded, it will reach so near the track as to prevent the limbs of persons who fall against it from getting under the shield and on the rail and at the same time present no impediment to the free running of the cars. This distance should not exceed two or three inches above the rails, but this will depend upon the closeness of the shield to the wheels, as the farther it is placed outward from the wheels, the higher it may be raised above the rails and yet it should be as near the track as convenient without interfering with its movements, Fig. 5 B, E and C, that it may not interfere with objects on the road. For cars of the size of those in common use, the shield for each side may be in three or four parts, each made of a single tough board, the ends of each part brought together and fastened with a bolt or catch or other similar means Fig. 1, C, C, and Fig. 4 K. At each end and at a short distance therefrom is attached on the inside a hook or elbow of metal Fig. 2, E and E Fig. 4, the shorter arm bent to form a hook, the point being at about an angle of forty five degrees to the larger arm and made to permit its sliding into a corresponding groove or way Fig. 2 0 made of wood or cast or plate metal and firmly attached to the bottom of the car at a corresponding angle with the hook, so that when the short arm is properly inserted in the grooves, the shield will hang vertically, as seen in Fig. 5. The elbows and grooves should be of sufficient strength to prevent springing or bending and be closely fitted to one another and when the shields are properly suspended and the parts thereof are properly bolted together, their gravity will keep them firmly in their places, or the shield C, may be in one piece or in parts and the rear end of each made to lap upon the front end of the next and thus on to the last part which may extend so far behind as to lap upon the shield of the next car when at its greatest running distance apart. When thus made and the direction of the cars is reversed without turning them the position of the parts must also be changed so that the outer ends may always be in the opposite direction of the running of the cars, for which purpose there should be sufficient sets of grooves, ways or staples at proper distances for supporting the shields in either position.

The separate projecting part D, is of sufficient length to lap upon the shield to which it is united about a foot or a foot and a half and also just upon the shield of the next car, when at its greatest running distance. The part to lap upon the first shield is beveled down toward the point so that when in place its opposite end will project out laterally from the rear car so as to not present any interference in the backing up one car upon another, or in the lateral or swaying motion of the cars, or in the turning curves, while the free end is rounded and made smooth so as to present as little obstruction to any object striking against it when the cars are in motion as possible. Near the fore end and on the beveled side is placed a metallic hook turned upward and at about the width of the shield therefrom is placed a similar one turned downward as seen in Fig. 3 D. These hooks should be two or three inches broad and stout and firmly attached to D, and so adjusted that they may slide over the end of the shield C, with D, on the outside and the hooks on the inside, the first one being under and the other above and each fitting into corresponding notches j y' in C, as seen in C- Fig. 4 while the weight of the opposite end of D, keeps the whole in place, or this part may be of elastic metal, or of leather or of preparations of india rubber or gutta percha, and the ends of these last described materials, leather india rubber or gutta percha attached to the ends of the shields which they are to unite. WVhen the direction of the cars is reversed and this movable part is of wood or metal, it is changed to the opposite side of the car then in front; or it may be changed to the inside of the same shield to which it is attached, or to the one on the opposite side and when the cars are made to run in an opposite direction it will then project in front, and the then fore end of D, will be on the inside of the shield of the front car instead of the outside, but when the projecting part turns outward, it should always beat the rear end of the car to which it is attached.

Instead of using elbows bent as hereinbefore described they may only be bent at right angles and fitted to corresponding grooves ways or staples and fastened in place by pins or springs or other similar means, or hooks or hinges or joints may be used so formed as to permit the shield to be turned up or removed and for this purpose they may be made to turn outward, but never inward, by shoulders on the joints or in some similar manner and steadiness may be given to the shield by a brace or arm extending from the bottom of the car to the shield as seen in Fig. 5, 7", f or by pressure against the outside of the shield or by some similar means, or the shield may be made permanent to the car bottom. Instead of making it of a single bond, it may be made of several, 01' in strips with interstices between, or a frame may be made of wood or metal or both and covered with any suitable material so as to present an even and smooth outer surface inthe direction the cars are running.

The movable platform is made in two equal parts each of the width of the car in length and so wide together as to about fill the space between the cars to which they are attached when they are at the greatest distance apart when running. Each part is formed of two stout bars of metal, with a hinge or joint each at one end to be attached to the end of the cars. Two of these bars are placed at nearly the width of the cars apart and are covered with a stiff board or plank and firmly riveted to the bars. The bars should be from ten to twelve inches longer than the width of the covering and. project beyond its edge and have each a double bend at the edge so that the under side of the projecting part shall be on a line with the upper surface of the covering. The other two bars are placed at from half to two thirds the width of the cars apart and are similarly covered and the projecting parts of the bars bentas the others. The hinged ends of the bars are then attached to adjacent ends of the two cars and the projecting parts are made to interlock as seen in Fig. 3, whereby each pair support the side to which they are attached by pressing upon the upper surface of the other part and thus both parts are prevented from turning downward, but will readily turn upward or yield to every other necessary motion and may be separated instantly and brought together as readily when necessary, or instead of bending the bars the projecting parts may be attached to the upper surface of the platform, or there may be two on one side and one at or near the center on the other, or two hinges for attaching the platform to the cars may be used on one side and one at the center on the other side, which may be necessary in some cases to accommodate them to the rocking motion of the cars at times, or the parts may be attached each by a single hinge in the center to the cars and be hooked or hinged together, but all these hooks or hinges must be so arranged by having shoulders upon them or otherwise in such a way as to prevent the platform from turning down, but allowing it all other necessary motions, or the parts may be attached to the cars by hinges which will support them horizontally, -while one part is placed above the other so that when the cars back upon one another there will be no interference, and while the cars are at any usual distance apart the space between them will be covered. In any case the hinges must permit the parts being turned up, and attached to the railing on the end of the cars when they are not in use. The edges of the movable platform where they come together, or the bars touch them should be covered with metal or other suitable material to prevent wearing and also the edges or notches of the shield C where the hooks of D, touch, while the shields both C and D should be strapped or bound with metal at the ends to prevent them from splitting.

I do not claim the first discovery of the idea of preventing accidents by covering the wheels of rail road cars, nor do I claim the invention of any part of the car nor, will I make any claim to any separate part of the shield or movable platform; but I do claim as my invention and desire to secure by Let-- ters Patent,

The shield and the movable platform to be attached to rail road cars for preventing accidents as hereinbefore set forth, and though both are necessary to eflect this purpose fully, yet I claim them separately as well as in combination, to be made and used as hereinbefore is more fully described and set forth.

JOHN G. CROCKER. Witnesses:

HENRY GREEN, H. A. DANIELS. 

